


The Chains of Fate

by Hellhoundz6



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Callus Callum, Dark, F/M, Live, Mature Callum, Romance, Tragedy, die - Freeform, repeat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-20
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-08 12:42:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18894865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hellhoundz6/pseuds/Hellhoundz6
Summary: Live , Die , Repeat. The chains of fate are unbreaking . Callum has lived through multiple lives struggling to find a way to return Zym back home . And to keep Rayla safe  through their journeys through Xadia





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Never made a attempt at making a story , and though of this prompt as a excellent idea to see how Callum could be as a character if exposed to all of joys and tragedy's that the world could offer .
> 
> criticizism Is highly encourage, only you comments on what you both love or hated about the story ,can allow me to be a better writer

Callum dies and is reborn each time

Reset at the cave? at the end of season 2

Live this incarnation through ? Or does this life Callum desire to take a much needed rest go around on the wheel of Fate .  
—————————-

The wind rapidly whipped around callum as the sounds booming thunder and blinding lighting surrounded him. He had hoped that with him choosing to fly through a storm , that he would have been able to use the gargantuan dark clouds that filled the skies as means to cover his escape from the elven city . Instead it seemed that he had flown himself into the heart of his pursuers.

A near deafening roar of thunder surrounded him drowning out all other sources of sound around him .

All except for the beating wings of the hippogriff below him and the panicked wimbers of the his small draconic charge that lay inside his satchel along his back. 

The rain fall was cumbersome falling in mass around him soaking him to his core.

He remembered a time where the cold rigid air mixed with rainfall had been sort of a sign of enjoyment for him and Ezran . 

Ezran 

Just thinking his brother name had a melancholy effect on him . 

Despite all of the chaos he now found himself in he now found himself thinking back to the little brother he always seemed to be forced to leave behind. He realize how much he truly missed those precious time with him

How much, he had always missed him whenever they were apart.

And how he may never have the chance to go back to the way things where before 

It would have be on stormy nights like this where they would spend their nights together wrapped in thick woolen blankets around a fire ,

They would haves enjoyed their time together complaining about there peaceful and mundane lives around the castle 

Callum would complain about the newest training routine that Soren would be insistent on trying to drive into him . or his latest blunder at trying to capture Claudia's eye.

While Ezran would tell of his and baits latest escapade around the castle, where usually their center focus would be on their newest strategy in trying to acquire larger quantities of jelly tarts.

They would laugh and enjoy their time together, while the chaos of the storm engulfed the world outside the walls.

Though on more sombering nights when Ezrans mind would wander back to the memory of their mother he would ask Callum if he could tell him more about her.

He would share with Ezran everything he had ben told and every memory he could recall of their Mother .  
He had been so young himself at her passing that he soon ran dry on what new stories could be told 

Though even as Callum’s stories began to repeat themselves night after night Ezran had always seemed to enjoy them time and time again simply happy with the idea of hearing more about Mom he never had the chance to meet..

Ezran had always be grateful that he still had family that cared for and loved him. That even though his mother was gone Callum was still here from him, like he was in those moments as they both sat safe and warm together,around the fire  
The tragedies of the past weren’t important, instead all that was , was that they were both together safe here and now .  
———-  
A bright light breaks across the darken sky pulling Callum back from his thoughts 

That last bolt of lightning had been closer 

A lot closer ...

It was closest that any other ark of lightning had come to him since he entered the storm 

And to the way the light seemed to be making its way across the sky steady approaching him it was a clear sign that magic was to blame 

To an onlooker it would have seemed as if the very storm itself was in pursuit of him.

This remind of the sense of eminent danger brings Callum out of his mindless daze of warm and comfortable night so long ago .

Now the only feeling of warmth he felt he knew was misleading as it came from the still growing crimson stain along his right thigh,

The prior owner of the winged creature he now rode upon had been far from accommodating when he had demanded the use of her mount. 

He still bleeding wound was evident of that 

Callum had not foreseen that stealing the hippogriff would have such a burdening and costly task.

For both his body … and his mind 

Callums hope was that In the early hours of morning ,the cover of darkness would have given him enough some sort of a advantage against the keen senses of the elves in the city. He prayed that it would be enough to sneak his way out of city that Rayla and he had been staying in, without being discovered.  
He had snuck away while Rayla slept, though that in itself had been his first challenge in trying to sneak past a trained moonshadow elf assassin.

He had waited until he could hear the subtle sounds of Rayla’s steady breath and could see the slow rise and fall of her chest for a few hours before deciding to move. 

Tucking Zym away into his satchel, Callum had made his way to the stables, he knew was located along the outer city walls. He approached the stables which had a lit lantern placed along the outer doors, letting him know that the building held a occuptant inside

As he was approaching the skywing elf, he found her tending to the steads in the stable of the city.

Unfortunately unlike Rayla a sleeping elf was nowhere near as difficult to sneak past then a fully awake and conscious one. Callum knew that Elves had keener senses, sight and hearing than humans, though he wasn't truly aware how acute a sense of hearing their pointed ears provided them. 

Even with the surprise that her eyes clearly showed with Callum’s use of magic the elven rider had still proven that she had been diligently trained. She may have been slender, but she was also graceful and strong, another blessing of her elven heritage 

Callum first charge of Fulminis ,that was meant to immobilize the elven warrior had gone wide , as she attempted to duck the blown resulting in it striking along her shoulder . She had closed the gap on Callum brandishing a knife in her good hand, that remained unimpaired . 

The knife that had quickly and skillfully found itself driven into his upper thigh.

With his panic from the assault the second spell did not contain the same level of restraint as the first 

Using the close proximity of his attacker Callum’s second use of Fulminis had been delivered from grabbing onto the face of the elven female riders and delivering the full impact of the spell through her.

.Her horns proving a cruel fully accessible grip to deliver the full force of the spell through her body.  
,  
The full untempered spell being allowed to flow unregulated bye Callum through the small frame of the Skywing Elf had resulted with the target falling to the ground with a deafening”Thub” at Callum’s feet.

It had happen a such a quicken tempo with him acting out of sheer impulse alone for the fear of his life that the gravity of what had just occurred didn't dawn on him until the Skywing Elf lay still motionless ,yer cindering on the ground beneath him  
“No… “ his voice barely a whisper from his lips 

“No..No No not again!!” Nearly screaming his denial  
Staring down at the embering form of the elf now at his feet he finally realized how young the elf actually was  
She looked around the same age as him… the same age as Rayla….

And now here she was dead here at his feet…. just like Rayla

Wait no?

No not like Rayla ...not this time

He closed his eyes as his face constricted trying to will the away the memory that tried to force its way to the surface.

He tried to close and stain his eyes to stay as tight as possible to point of straining his eyes so tight that it began to hurt.

He had to focus. He had to try and focus and remember that it was just that a memory . 

Rayla was safe he was sure of that, he had made sure of that.She was still back in the tavern where he had left her....  
it wasn’t Rayla  
.  
Despite trying to tell himself this, the image of rayla’s face briefly flashed in his mind replacing that of the elven rider..

And his blood ran cold

shocked to his core at what he had just done.

He had to force down the small amount of bile that rose from his throat.

Slowly opening his eyes as the pain of forcing his eyes closed began to be to excruciating he looked down hoping that the corpse would not be there.

Though there she still layed

Her eyes still weld open with the last reflection of emotion she felt , that of shock and panic …. and fear staring blankly at one of the far walls.

The longer he looked at the crippled from of the young girl now laying at his feet the more he felt discussed at the sight, 

The more he felt discussed at himself  
Though his guilt for the young girl found him unable to look away ,as if he seeked to chastise himself as a act of penance.

The hair around the base of her skull where it met her horns had been reduced to cinders.That combined with the smell of burnt hair and skin permeating the air, only brought a more sickening feeling to him.

He was horrified at the result of his loss of control.

He had taken a life ,her life…

The thought of it sent a paralyzing cold chill down his spine, as he felt as if his very bones ached from the grief he felt 

His actions had robbed her of her life, of her existence, 

She had likely had loved ones, someone she had loved, and had loved her

And he robbed them of her as well.

Through all of his past lives he had hurt other before with magic, but only if he had to, only if he truly no other choice. 

but he had seldom been in a circumstance where he had been forced to rob someone of their life’s  
.  
So seldomly in fact that he was still haunted with the count that held for each time he was forced into the deplorable disgusting act.

A count that has just risen once more 

“This was the third” he had to state it to himself, for force himself to come to terms at what had just transpired.

And just like when the two cases before the poor Skywing Elf girl he felt as if a piece of sanity died along with her

How long would it be, how many more incarnation would it before that number would rise to four .

“No!”  
if he still moved fast there would be no next incarnation, this would all be over , there was still time 

Afterwards he would return and willingly accept any form of punishment that elven justice sought to place upon him 

Both he and rayla both had always promised that they would be better than the ones that attack them.

A promise that he had be steady unable to keep.

A Moonshadow Elf assassin that refused to take a life, no matter how hard there travels had been or how tough of a opponent she faced ,she had always handicapped herself bye refusing to take a life.

That type of discipline and control only spoke more about how skifull she truly was..  
A skill that apparently that even through his several attempts he still lacked

She really was as skilled as she was beautiful .

Her love and respect for both the lives of elves and human was one of just the few reason that callum loved her.

That he had loved her , he had to rember to correct himself 

This repeat , this version of Rayla was not” his” Rayla 

Not the same Rayla that shared sleepless night with him that had turned into tinder embraces. His Rayla that they had both bound themselves to each other in body mind a soul .

That version of his best friend and lover had been painfully all left behind several lifetimes ago

. Such pain of the separation and the loss of memory as Callum awoke again in the mouth of the cave , with Rayla having no idea how much they both had grown to mean to one another.

It nearly broken his mind as he swore to simply accept the pain that he knew vs the new forms the loss of his love time and time again .

Choosing to keep Rayla at a safe distance 

He knew he had little time to spend in his reflection of his lapse of control, shoving the thoughts and dread he felt deep down that he could reflect on in a later time.. If there was time.

He had removed the blade from his thigh trying his best at a quick bandage and mounted the beast and flew off into the night , praying the poor girl's corpse would remain hidden until he was long gone 

Clearly it had not 

“KAWWWW”  
The multiple sounds of hippogriffs screeching along the night sky , the lighting casting shadows on the clouds around him. Clearly the young riders form had been found .

That combined with the rushing wind chilled him to his core. The cold was troublesome, causing his limbs to lock up making it difficult to keep his legs gripped his mount as it bobbed along the wind.

His breath was sporadic as his eyes where rapidly scanning the sky all around him for signs of the caused of what had him travelling along the sky lines of xadia on a stolen hippogriff, with the words most powerful creature whimpering in his satchel.

“Sedendum” The sound of the voice breaking with the sound of thunder Callum new what was to come 

He aggressively yanked the reigns of the hippogriff to the left causing the beast to yell at the drastic pull causing it to sway to the right avoiding a lighting strike that bore down on his previous location.

“ No , No! No!!” none of this was going right, he had just wanted it to work out this time.He had planned to fly Zym directly back to his mother and to finally have all of this be over.To have this repeated cycle of him trying trying over and over again to be over.

“Stop this all of you I’m Trying to save you “ he shouted desperately into the erupting crackling of the storm .

There reply was shortcoming

“Sedendum”

“Sedendum”

“Sedendum”

Three separate lighting strikes stuck down at callum, and even with his attempt to dodge the falling lighting bolts one of the falling arc’s managed to strike the left wing of the hippogriff, turning the upper portion of the creatures left wing into a sendering heap of flesh ahd scorched feathers.

The creature riled in pain , and the hippogriffs agonizing screams filled the air rolling and spazzing throwing callum from its back.

Zym Screams soon followed as the leather straps from his pack had snapped on from the impact of the spell. Causing Zyms to slip off of and away from his human guardian. The young dragon prince stunned and confused from how quickly the event took place 

The lighting strike left callum dazed and disoriented, as he felt himself in a sense of free fall as he saw the strap of his satchel had snapped in the impact as his saw the face of zym peering out of the satchel as he drifted in free fall away from him!

The little dragons crys filled his ears as callum tried to reach out to the satchel . 

From the recoil he was having difficulty in focusing in moving his limbs  
He struggle trying to force his left arm to reach out to quickly grab Zym before he drifted too far away .

THough His arm refused to move.. 

Trying to stain the muscles in his arm to answer his will to move Callum looked away from the distressed zym at the defiant limb 

His arm still did not respond though now he could see why 

Callum had been unable to force his left hand to move because ...  
there simply was nothing to move.

 

though he didn’t feel any sort of pain  
Just more a feeling of confusion, but no pain 

 

He was in shock

he realized glaring down at the bloody lump .that now was now his left arm that he body must gone it a state of shock when the limb had been damaged , dumping a panic dose of hormones into his blood

Noo, he was done . He begrudgingly new that now with a crippled leg and missing arm with the ground rapidly approaching was finally time enough to accept , He was going to die,  
this life was done 

“Sighhh” still falling and with Zym now nowhere in sight he didnt have any sort of fell that , was already replaced with a feeling of acceptance 

Instead he felt saddened that all of the time,effort and planning he had invested over the last four months had now be all a waste . 

 

He tra

He realized looking down at his left arm .. where his arm should beee.. Its seems his reaction to the onslaught of falling lighting had been even less frivolous then he first thought.

Callum knew the fall very high, because he fell very slowly, and for he had plenty of time as he went down to look about him and to wonder what was going to happen next. First, he tried to look down and make out what he was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything. Second he looked at his side and saw the vanishing glimpses of Zym as he disappeared into the storm.Third he tried to think on what would happen next.

Zym…. the young dragon still could not fly very well, though he had seemed to a firm understanding on how to glide. As long as he squirm his way out of the satchel he would likely use his wings to make a relatively safe landing to the ground.

Rayla.. he still felt a pain of guilt for just leaving her behind, but at least this way she was safe . She wasn’t here with him caught in a violent storm being persuaded and struck down by lightning bye pursuing Skywing Elf mages.

This time He wouldn’t have to have the last thing he see be the fear and panic in her eyes, but knowing that it wouldn’t be the fear of her own death but ..for him 

He wouldn’t watch her die again.

The sun would be rising soon .She would wake up and discover both of them missing.

She would likely panic for a while in search for them, though it's unlikely should would find any clues of him so far away.

Maybe with a bit of luck Zym would find his way back to Rayla and she could still complete her mission 

This live held the possibility of a happy ending for his Moonshadow elf , still a chance of her name could be cleared, 

Still hope 

Even though Callum knew it wouldn’t matter soon everything he had done in these last four months would all be erased.

Though he still has hope that in the past versions of the worlds he abandoned that there remained a chance for her to be happy , for the slim chance that the different versions of the world continued on after his deaths 

Though he prayed that was never the case .

Not every life , had ended with a outcome of a world that left the possibility of hope 

There had been Lives where he had abandoned her like now , where he had pushed her away with the hopes she would be faster and safer on her own.  
He had lied to her , even betrayed bye revealing her to others of her kind, hoping that at least detained she would safe and removed from the cursed journey

Even lives where his actions had resulted in a world Rayla had been forced into taking a life herself to protect him , Callum still thinking of the poor Skywing Elf girl cold eyes.

Or even worst ,worlds where Rayla has been force to take a life of even someone she had come to love 

After all duty is the death of love .

Finally Callum’s mind drifted on what soon awaited him . He knew from experience that the the time in which he would experience any form of pain or process trauma would be way to slow falling at this rate . 

That is given that he was fortunate enough to die immediately on contact 

Depending on how far his fall was , and on what surface he landed on when he hit the ground, he could pass before his body could even process what had happen .  
So submissively , Callum closed his eyes and waited of what was to come , and again swearing to himself that no what awaited him in his next life  
That he would not be chained bye Fate  
—————-


	2. Fate is a Book you write yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callum is brought back again to see his darker self and forced to realized what the answer really is to his escape from being forced to say goodbye to everyone he loved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still new to writing fan stories, and I tried to put a lot of time and effort to still accurately portray these characters if they were put in this sort of environment. Criticism and thoughts are heavily wanted so please do leave a comment on any criticism

Callum vision was blurry, his felt cold and numb as If every limb has fallen asleep at once and now a crawling tingling sensation engulfed him.  
The best way he could have put it to words would be to say that his body seemed to be waking up and recovering from that last panic signals his body had registered

as he struggled to clear his vision he found a silver lining that while his limbs were slow to respond his left hand had been returned to him

“Least there no need to worry about teaching myself to draw with my right hand”

. A familiar but unwelcoming sense of nausea wash over him as his body felt numb and sluggish., His body, even though restored to whole seemed nearly unresponsive. Callum struggled as he was forced to exert a considerably more effort than normal to get his body to respond.

Even something as simple as lifting his newly restored left arm up to his eyes was difficult as if he limbs had been weighted down. His skin continued to craw with the tingling sensation as if a swarm of insects was crawling over every inch of his body. That combined with the only feeling of a cold chill from his body core, left feeling in a state that he could only describe as distant. It felt almost as if he was now a stranger in his own body

**“How many times does this make it now ?”**

__________________  
The familiar voice brought with it a memory of when he had first found himself resting upon a countless amount of keys.

**“Callum don't be frightened”**

I'm not …..I'm just confused

**“ That's only natural. You tried dark magic for the first time, no one expects that the Easy”**

"but that's the thing…. it was easy"

“To easy in fact, but that only proves more of why its wrong!”

**“but is it really so wrong?”**

“ Yes”

**“Is it though ???”**

Yes

 **“But you can feel it can't you? You were born to do magic" ******  
“The kind of magic that humans can do, you have the chance to have an unlimited unrivaled power”

**“ And you can choose what to do with it you can make a real difference in the world all you need to do now is it to simply accept your destiny as it is already is written”**

**“Look inside yourself, this is your destiny you have to accept it”**

“No I don’t I get to choose who I want to be

**“No you don’t your destiny is already written, fighting it is pointless it's just invadable”**

“No Destiny's is a book you write yourself” …  
_________________  
He still wanted to believe that, but the more he struggled unsuccessfully in ever attempted he made at a new life to return Zym home without getting himself or Rayla hurt the more it seemed like more of a Lie

The memories…. of that first exchange still haunt him .

The words still painfully playing on repeat in his mind,

The same words, from the first time he remembered definitely opposing the idea that he was somehow enslaved to the will of fate.

Loop after Loop he would find himself forced to repeat his challenge of fate to himself. He had first hoped, or he guessed more desperately wanted to believe that he could make that remain true. He would do whatever he had to force it to be true …., to force himself to continue to believe it could be true.

**“Hello ...Me” **The voice rang through the darkness, into Callum's mind, breaking his train of thought****

“Hello... you”  
“How many times does this make it now” A Familiar voice its tone filled with mockery echoed in the empty void.

Calum never truly knew the true purpose behind the question even though it was always the first thing he would hear upon awakening here.

The voice while distorted beyond what most would be recognizable as normal still sound sounded familiar to him

Though it stands to reason that the voice would sound familiar to him.

after all it was his own ..

The figure took a form which resembled a distorted copy of his own.With darkened bags under its eyes. The very tips of the majority of the bangs all tinted an unnatural gray even, as well as showing signs of withering from age along its face that was usually reserved for that of the elderly.

Though the most spine chilling aspect of the creature, that took Callum the longest to acclimate to was the way the creature spoke. Its voice was as distorted at the figures form to resemble his own, though with a deep echoing voice that echoed with a delay with every word it spoke. The secondary voice echo sound as if it originated from the void itself

“does it really matter?” he had begun to wonder if the count he actually knew as the answer was accurate.

“Mmmm” his ghostly double paused to sarcastically pondered the question  
“no I really suppose it doesn’t”  
**“ thoughhhhhh ..*mmm*” **the image of Copy chucked drawing out the teasing word for Ephesus **“It is nice of you to finally drop back in “** ****

****Sighing and rolling over to the sight Callum knew what awaited him.  
**** The figure waiting and wanting him to fall for the obvious tease, the all but familiar, but still deeply resented mirror copy of himself.  
He was laying splayed across the only other object that occupied space here, the large wooden throne.  
His shadowy doubled laid lazy spread with its legs thrown across one of the legs and it back laid against the other. Callum sat there resting atop the pile of key unblinking staring back at the same sickly looking double that had first welcomed him here, back right before he had learned to connect to the sky arcanum.

 

The shit-eating grin still spread across his shadowy double as he waited for a response, he despised that grin

“ is that suppose to be your attempt at humor” Callum unblinkingly staring down the figure trying to keep a stoic face to enforce that he wasn't interested contributing to the childish antics

“Your jokes seemed to be always made from my own personal tragedies, its becoming an annoying habit of yours”

**“ I’m not left with much else to do when stuck here as mere onlooker “**

“Then I would use your surplus in time to try and find better jokes “ Callum tried to stress the annoyance in his tone”

Experiencing his own failures first hand was enough he didn't need to be reminded of them when it was supposed to be all over and erase.

Callum slid down the pile of the keys and made his way across, the shadowy void to stand before his duplicate  
His eyes following him as he approached his darker self on tilting his head to look at him though maintaining his slack posture  
“Are you sure, Because I thought it was rather funny? ,” tilting its head questioned

 **“Because I mean this time”** His double chucked and stretching himself out more along with his acquired seat  
**“because this time around you did actually did fall”**

“Yes from a hippogriff!”

 **“Yesss, but it still counts”** he defended, The shade Callum chuckling at the desired goal being achieved of making a cruel joke of the wasted, grueling effort he had put in towards this life’s attempt at being for naught .

“Try again “

**“Ehhh human social cues are strange, not like I’ve been giving much chance at practice “**

as Callum finally stood at the foot of the two-step pedestal of the wooden throne, he looked slightly up locking eyes with his double

 **“Ehhh never any fun” ******  
“So what did you learn from all of your wasted planning and effort this time,” the shade said this rolling his right hand at the wrist in the air attempting to edge him into a retort.

When none came it once again fell back into its attempt at humor  
“Because it clearly wasn’t how to fly”

Callum looked away breaking his locked gaze, and turning away from the throne. He sat down at the foot of the last step and leaned back his arms spread, resting his head along the adjourning step .

Callum didn't want to hold a conversation with his copy. He had become aware that every time he tried when he was forced to come here the shade never provided him with any help or advice.

Instead it was usually just teasing and mockery .

“don't try and take a hippogriff through a thunderstorm …” closing his eyes he still expected to feel the rush of wind, a reminder of how quick his rapid descent towards the ground really was .

The abrupt halt came when he became acquainted with the ground , still had his mind racing attempting to ponder what of all things if it had killed him . Had it been the impact that had done him in or had he simply lost consciousness, and simply succumbed to his twisted and mauled wounds ?  
The question to puzzle such a thing was a morbid luxury he doubted few others truly had  
“it doesn't turn out too well”

“ that and the fact that a direct path to return Zym to his mother apparently can’t be easy as straight shot through the air“  
“ to many patrols roam the skies around the cities “

 **“ trueee but maybe if you had someone else there with you, someone … say , whose eyes are more attuned to seeing in dim lighting and across long distances “** the shadow suggested smuggling grinning, knowing what he was suggesting as well as the response it would receive

“ it wouldn’t have mattered “ Callum stoically stated eyes adopting a cold glare from the baited implication

**“ are you sure another pair of eyes to help spot those sky elf rider, and to help navigate through their summoned storm, may have been helpful, no? “**

“ an Assassin that is trained to be effective on the ground, doesn’t fare as well in the air “ Callum attempted to logically explain his choice in deciding to not involve Rayla.

In truth it’s wasn’t the real reason he had left her behind, but it also wasn’t a lie. He knew Rayla was extremely gifted at fighting, he could only think of a small handful of people that could be a match for her … that’s is in a fair fight . A fight she didn’t have to worry about trying to protect a pair of dragon and human princess who at times could do little more than just act as bystanders .

 **“Trueeeee but it didn’t do you much good for either of you when you just left her sleeping in bed back at that Elven Inn “  
**  
Callum was silent at the statement

 **“ In fact, I said you did more harm than good leaving her behind “  
**  
The shade waited for a response hoping he would rise to the ploy,

it didn't come

Calum had to remind himself not to respond

.He knew where this topic would lead if he bothered to entertain the shade.

The shade was baiting him into a conversation, that would only pain him more than necessary by taking it any further.

His conversation with the shade always had his mirror image trying to direct the conversation to the same topic, with the same purpose.

Though any of the talking that took place in between all the teasing, Callum never new if the shade drew some kind of enjoyment from it or it simple the simplest means to an end.

So instead he would remain silent until the shades time was up and he was returned to start over again.

When Callum simply titled his head back still sitting on the stair in order to return an unblinking glare back at his double, now adopting facial features void of signs of emotions, the shade new that was his intentions would be to simply wait him out.

The shades face adopted a new expression as well, that of annoyance marked but it sucking its teeth, at the lack of reply he sought

**“ bye having you go through the trouble of forcing yourself to wait till she was asleep and then sneaking your way out with the dragon all while trying not to wake her”**

Do not respond

**“You lost yourself valuable time “**

Do not respond

**“Time that maybe would have resulted in you maybe missing that patrol completely “**

He was simply trying to play with him

**“, maybe even missing that innocent Sky elf give that was simply tending to her stead”**

Even it new the right things to say to Play with his emotions

The shadow version of Callum sat upright in the wooden throne interlace its fingers and resting its elbows on his knee and his head atop his newly enlaced hands to stare down at him

tilting his head to show a bit of curiosity

**“Tell me why not just bring her with you ?”**

Callum gritted his teeth looking down at his feet trying to hide the signs that he knew the illusion was simple baiting him to his response as it always seems to enjoy doing. Though also knowing that it would see through any lie

The best he could hope was to choose to not to respond

**“ Did you think she would just slow you down”**

No need to respond to something that now never happened”

**“Or did you simply not care what happened to her as long this time you finally did not have to come back here yourself ”**

He didn't leave her behind soon he would back with her again in that forsaken cave,, he would be with her again

 **“All to just save yourself, so selfish ”** he added with a small chuckle

She would be safe

**“You had to have known the first thing she would do when she realized you were gone would be to desperately go after you ”**

She hadn't had the chance to she would have barely been awake bye the time he had died

**“Even if her own people caught her and had her trialed as a traitor against her own kind”**

Callum repeated the thought in his mind “Do not respond, she didn't get caught because she wasn't there”

**“You abandoned her”**

“ no…” his reply escaping his lips as barely a whisper

**“You might even have Killed her”**

“No!!” he defiantly yelled back at the double , The thought of simply being silent was now violent thrown to the side as he refused to be silent as he was forced here only to berated as the meaning behind his actions where twisted and perverted to make it seem as he was just being selfish at the cost of putting Rayla in danger  
“No I didn't do anything.”

He sprung up from his seat and stood tall as he now decided he would rather defiantly stare down the source of this berating then to silently let himself be a pin cushion for its accusations.

“ I didn't abandon her, I didn't betray her!, I didn't do anything because none of it happen anymore!”

**“Then why didn't you bring her, Rayla could only have been helpful in every step during your escape. Stealing the hippogriff, subduing that elven rider, even in avoiding your pursuers”**

Callum knew the shade would see through any other lie he tried, so instead he simple settled on the only choice he had the truth.

Quietly he responded to the shade  
“ I didn’t want to see her get hurt “

“Hahaha” the shadow Callum hunched over i heavy fit of laughter , breathing gasp between speaking  
**“ you didn’t, hehe , feel the same way for that poor Skywing Elf , hehe you know the one you took the liberty of borrowing the mount from “**

“ that’s different “

 **“ ohhh really how so?” ******  
He questioned quirkily

“Because if I die then….“  
Callum paused the realization of the inaccuracy of his words causing his throat to dry as he attempted to swallow the lump that had suddenly developed in his throat  
“Since I dyed it doesn’t make a difference”  
“ none of it ever happen “

He froze once he had finished his tirade and a small chill ran down his spine, as he soon realized that he had made a mistake at the sight of his doubles. Because rather than seeing the surprised face that he had hoped for bye the shade he instead saw him grinning back at him  
and he knew he had played into its hands

**“But what if it still happening? All the while you are left here with escape, a chance to try again and start a new ”**

shit Callum mentally scolded himself he had played right into the shades band  
**“Meanwhile Rayla is stuck back with a dead friend, that she loved and whos last act she believed it was to abandon her, and to leave her alone surrounded by people who see her as a traitor to her own kind”**

“It didn't happen because that's now how this whole thing works” Callum definitely stated

**“How would you know that?”**

“How would you!” all you ever seem to do is to mock and tease me each time I come here”  
“Instead if you know anything about what's been happening to me over and over, and how I can make all of this finally end then why don’t you tell me instead of always sitting there being a condescending ass”

“You know that answer to how all of this end” the shade raising his hand to have a dark mis swirl from it to have a familiar cube take form.Though instead of the correct runes that the cube was supposed to have along its multiple sides representing different arcanimus, was the same glowing red emblem. Dark Magic

**“No!”**

“ that's not an answer at all it's just the same thing you always to offer every time i'm forced to come here”

**“How is this not the answer., you should have figured it out by now through all of the loops you've died that no matter of trick or plan that you have is ever gonna be the answer” the figure extended out its hand offering the Cube to Callum**

“And dark magic is? , it’s just another trick itself”

**“NO ! it is not a trick it is the answer” the void seemed to shake at a sign of the rage from the shade**

“No its not it's just a short cut, one that uses the sacrifices of another creature in order to cast magic. is not true magic it's just .. wrong”

**“How is that any different from when humans and elves hunt and kill animals to sustain their own lives”**

“Because it just is” Callum didn't really know the answer himself, though he had asked the same question to Rayla at one point and she hadn't had a clear answer

**“Creatures live and die, dark magic simple allows you to be the one in control of which way the scale tips”**

“But I won't use it, I won't” Callum had always wanted to magic, ever since Rayla had first called him a mage it felt right to him, like he had finally found a true purpose to his life, something to be good at , to be a Mage.

But dark magic was wrong he felt the ere of it the first time he had used it. While using it felt as if he had been starving his entire life but with it a huge bountiful feast was laid out before him.  
With it he would no longer have to feel helpless, it offered to give him seamless limitless power and control, it was alluring

Though he knew that the feast was poison, each time it would have been at the cost of using another creature life and connection to arcanum to force his will onto the word, as well as in sacrificing a portion of his own.

Callum had seen the sides effect dark magic had on its wielders in lord Viren.

Callum had learned that magic was the practice of using and understanding the word and its natural order to suggest change onto the world.

A mage was someone who could harness and command the forces of magic thanks to the connection that they held to the arcanum, and with it came a understand that magic held certain limitations.

Magic itself was a natural part of Xadia . Because of that magic itself even with acts that, some would deem as miracles still fell within a natural law

But with dark magic it was different. It allowed an outsider, someone who had no understanding of an arcanium to influx the flow of the world. Dark magic didn't hold a direct connect to a Primal source. Instead, it was used to draw upon the connection of another living creatures connection to an arcanum to fuel a spell. Though that was still not always enough it also would still cost using some of the essences of the caster. With that anything that would be impossible for a normal mage would be possible, at a price of their own essence to pay the price

The ease of dark magic and the power it held is what had made it so alluring to humans.

**“You asked for the answer and here I am giving you one, why not use every tool available to you to finally be done with all of this…. please?”**

Callum had a brief moment of pause taken aback by the shades reply. Had it said “please “? Every time he had come here and had argued with the shade never had it pleaded with him before.It brought the idea to mind that despite the shades teasing and berating, maybe the shade sought an end to there looping as much as he did. He didn't imagine his imprisonment appealed any more to it them him.

To the creatures honest plea Callum felt it only right to reply to the shades question in earnest

“Because… because then all of the pain and all of the suffering that had to happen until now would have been for nothing”

It was true..  
If he chose now after all of his loops that he had fought and struggled for to now finally decide to use dark magic then it would have all been for nothing

All that he had sacrificed, everyone he had lost would have been for nothing if he chose to honor that sacrifice by simply throwing it all away and to allow dark magic to be an answer. It felt it as if would have been a betray to himself and of the pain he had endured, the weight he had placed upon himself to swear to himself that he would find a way to save everyone, with the path he chose.

The way he had a challenge long ago that fate was a book you wrote yourself. Instead if chose to use dark magic all of his past defiance it would make him a hypocrite. Along with the wasted lives of throwing aww a choice now he could have originally have made so long ago

Dark magic, of course, terrified him, its use at the price at what it cost, and the thought of what those around him would see him as.. Rayla hated it practice because like she did with all things she valued the existence of all life. He feared that the same disdain that she affiliated with dark magic would also be directed at him

Though what he feared most of all, what he dreaded most of all is the small idea in his mind that chilled him to his core is that what if it worked?  
What if his fate truly was to use dark magic, and what if with it he could return Zym back to his mother, to stop a war that would rob thousands of their lives. With it what if he could even keep Rayla safe and alive, even if she hated him for doing so

If through his countless lives he had learned anything is that the real world usually failed to be a fairy tell where everyone would be allowed to live at the happy end. Where there was a goal there was a price, what if this was his price to pay.

“this isn't going to end is it”

 **“that's honestly up to you?? up to me? us??? I don't know”** his shade sounded as defeated as himself with his response. It seems he wanted an end to this as much as he did. The idea of being trapped as an onlooker for the end of time didn’t seem that appealing to Callum

“ but I’ve done dark magic before “

“It didn't change anything… it's what started this nightmare” Callum still continued to try and place reasoning on why it was wrong for him to even consider using dark magic. As well as the last time he sacrificed his own ideas to use it. **“Yes but you’ve never truly embraced it, instead simply drawing on bits and pieces of the practice in simple acts of desperation “**

Came the shades response

“Callum plz it doesn’t matter what you did before, I just want you to be ok again” a caring worried voice whispered its way into his ear but this time not from the shade,

“Callum!” it was Raylas voice, Raylas panicked voiced she was out there now looking thinking that’s she was watching him die, and she was scared.

**“We're running out of time”**

**“Don't care to make a mad dash for the keys this time ??””**

The shade falls back to humor bye referring back to a time where he had thougt that the key always found himself waking on top of somehow held an answer. Now though he felt as if every key on the pile symbolized another cycle he was forced to repeat

“Is the answer there” he morbidly joked back to the shade

The sarcastic jab toward him was lost in the lack of care for a retort

“ I can’t lose you like this you. You mean to much to me” the panicked whispers continued as a sign that he would soon wake up again

She sounded panicked as she was scared of the thought of losing him. Though times and time again he forced her to do just that. The amount of life’s he had left her behind either in death or in life, like with his escape from the inn. Why would he choose to do that to Rayla so many times when she would never do that to him no matter what foolish stupid mistakes he made.

 **“No, it’s here. Though I can't make the choice for you. Decide Will this just be another loop you're forced to struggle and suffer through, searching for an answer. ”** the shade stepping down from the throne now to come to as far as it could before an ethereal like chains appeared on its wrist glimmering binding it to a distance from the wooden throne. The cube still glowing a bright red in front of him.

******" Or will you finally accept the one fate has given you**** **

 

He wouldn’t let this happen again, he didn’t think he couldn’t. One more life of being forced to watch everything thing he care for him slip away again he felt would break him.  
If he was chained by some sort of fate to use dark magic, then would he finally find an end to all of this if he accepted it.  
Callum reached out to rest his hand along the Cube  
If it was it would be his choice to make


End file.
